Whisky Galore! (1949)

Better Late Then Never

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

To all that's been said by other viewers, I'd just like to add that, to me, the comedy derives not only from the sheer situation - a whole cast of beautiful Scottish island dwellers / a ship washed ashore with holds full of precious rare whiskey at a time of dire storage, but from the way this bunch of islanders deal with the 'rules' and go around all of them. A godsend shipment of whiskey in war time is one thing, the armed forces trying to apply some rule to such an unruly population is another, but they also have to deal with 2 even bigger forces, the tide and Sabbath! The inner struggles of these good people to finally manage and have the proper wedding ceremony, and the ensuing traditional ceilidh make the movie a delight of good, unpretentious comedy, while the fond memory that remains is that of mankind working around cultural/historical setting to remain what they are deep at heart, and behave accordingly. And yes, there is also the wonderful Joan Greenwood, with her ragged velvet voice and smooth acting...

The people of the little village of Toddy on one of the Outer Hebrides runs out of whiskey and there is no prospect of any coming in. A shroud descends on the island. No one smiles. The elderly waste away.Then, through the seasonable interposition of a gracious Providence, a ship is wrecked just offshore while carrying a cargo of 50,000 cases of scotch. The villagers, champing at the bit while waiting for the Sabbath to end, finally manage to save some 250 cases before the ship goes down.The sun shines again and the islanders are happy -- except for the comically strict captain of the Home Guard who learns of the theft and calls in the authorities to confiscate the goods. He almost does it, too.It's a fine farce. The comedy is understated and flows naturally from the unnatural situations. The laughs are never forced. I'll give just one example.As the men of the village are finishing the transfer of all that booze from the ship to a fleet of rowboats, the ship itself gives a lurch and lists heavily. The cargo hold, still full of stone-heavy cases of whiskey, is filled with tumbling cartons. One man is trapped below and when his rescuers hurriedly pull the crates away from him, they find him sitting there with a resigned but not at all unhappy expression. If you're going to lose your life, this is the proper way to do it -- crushed by the water of life.There's a dumb coda, but it's sarcastic and can be ignored safely. Otherwise this is a truly heart-warming movie that belongs to the "happy peasant" genre. The outsiders are cold and repressed, while the peasants dance, sing, drink, and feast. There are far worse examples of the genre. I particularly like the fact that, at the end, the moralistic outsider isn't converted by the peasants. He simply goes away in frustration.

I regret to say that this is one of the most overrated films I have ever seen. This is the only negative review I have ever done for IMDb, but enough is enough - someone has to stand up against the tide of praise this film has inexplicably attracted for decades.If ever there was an example of a film playing the part of the emperor in the Emperor's New Clothes fable, it is this one. There are virtually no laughs - and yet it is an acclaimed comedy. It is at times cruel and unpleasant - and yet it has a reputation for being gentle and whimsical.There are genuinely classic comedies from the 1940s, so I have nothing against 40s comedies as such. An example is fellow Ealing comedy 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' (1948), which is both clever and genuinely witty, and at the same time doesn't pretend to be gentle and whimsical.However, 'Whisky Galore' is neither clever nor witty. And, as mentioned above, it is at times cruel. The army captain (Basil Radford) is only trying to do his job, yet is driven to the edge of a nervous breakdown by the malice of the islanders. In the end, the captain gets into trouble with his superiors because of the deceit of the islanders. How gentle, whimsical and amusing - not.I realise that such films were popular at the time because they tapped into the prevailing anti-establishment feeling of the immediate post-war years. However, in the cold light of the 21st century we need to be honest. There are many 1940s films which stand up extremely well even today. 'Whisky Galore' is not one of them.

When I saw this film was made by Ealing Studios, I jumped at the chance to see it. That's because following WWII, this small studio made a long string of cute little gems--all with exquisite writing, acting and direction--and on shoestring budgets. Their Alec Guinness films and PASSPORT TO PIMLICO are some of the very best films of the era. So I wasn't surprised when I found I also enjoyed this slight little film about a town that ran out of whisky (the Scottish spelling) and their attempts to smuggle in a new supply of drink. Once again, the very simple story was deftly handled and it was quite entertaining. There were only two drawbacks--neither one might affect you personally. The first was the language. While I watch tons of British television and movies, I, like most Americans have a much harder time understanding Scottish accents than English accents. I really would have loved subtitles or closed captioning, but the videotape I saw had neither. Secondly, the quality of the print was really lousy. Both these problems can be blamed on Critic's Choice Videos. I've seen other films from them and must say they produce among the WORST quality videotapes--try to find ANY other brand.